Arthur Conan Doyle laments Australia's 'spiritual deadness'

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle embarked on a five-month tour of Australia and New Zealand in 1920. The creator of Sherlock Holmes had not journeyed south to discuss his literary works, but his spiritualist beliefs – that is, his belief in the supernatural: ghosts, fairies and the power of telepathy. While Doyle was particularly taken with Australian Rules football, he was met with some hostility. The press allegedly boycotted his tour, and some Presbyterians were said to have prayed that he not survive the voyage here. Reflecting on his experience, he wrote, "The spiritual deadness of this place … gets on my nerves." On the left Doyle, wearing white, visits an Australian bee far; on the right is a book commemorating his visit, presented by Sydney's Stanmore Spiritualist Church. (The Conan Doyle Encyclopedia/State Library of New South Wales)